Process of manufacturing gas



Sept. 8, 1931.

J. c. STELFOX PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS Filed Dec. 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l m 0 Z. mwm W T;

Sept. 8, 1931. J. c. STELFOX PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS File'd c 14, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 x MAW Am r J WW M aw 111g it.

Patented Sept. 8, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES CALDWELL STELFOX, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO THE U. G. I. CONTRACTING COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION OF DELAWARE PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING GAS Application filed. December 14, 1925, Serial No. 75,231, andin Great Britain December 14, 1924.

This invention has reference to the manufacture of gas by a known process in which coal or like material is carbonized in the upper part of a generator and passes as coke into the lower part thereof where it is alter nately blasted with air to raise its temperature and with steam to produce water gas which is passed through the coal or like material above to carbonize or assist in carboniz- The object of the invention is to enable the process to be carried out efficiently as regards the transfer and utilization of heat for the production of water gas and the carbonization of the coal and to enable the mixed gas produced by completely gasifying the coal to 'be enriched when necessary without employing special or additional recuperators, carburetters or the like.

To this end, according to the present invention, the coke is blasted with air and the blast gases are led off from the coke without passing through the coal and are utilized to heat recuperative chambers and the coal is carbonized partly by the passage through it in a countercurrent direction with reference to the travel of the'fuel through the carbonizing and gasifying chambers of the following; viz; hot water gas and excess steam produced by steaming the coke with steam superheated in the recuperative chambers, a portion of the produced coal gas and water gas mixed and superheated with the fresh 0 as making steam, and hot water gas produced by steaming the coke with saturated steam. i

The lengths of the superheated and saturated steamin periods may be so adjusted as to provide t e time for the requisite degree of carburetting in the recuperative chambers ,when not using these for thesuperheating of the steam. If desired, downrunning may be employed with saturated steam introduced at the junction of the coal and coke chambers and during this period carburetting also may be carried out or continued. The term .saturated steam is intended to mean and include steam which has not been superheated in the recuperative chambers but it is immaterial whether such steam has been more or less superheated by other means say for instance in a steam boiler superheater or the like.

As will be undertsood air blasting of the fuel may be effected between steaming with 'thereby helping to carbonize it, and these gases, which will be comparatively rich in carbon monoxide, and the gases evolved from the coal, may be led 011' preferably without passing through the recu erative chambers, and dstored together with t e water gas, if des1re Under some conditions the utilization for carbonization of a portion of the coal gas and water gas mixed and superheated with the fresh gas-making steam may be suspended or dispensed with, the heat conditions in the generator being maintained, if necessary, by using a greater quantity of steam during the superheated steam run periods, or of air durin the blasting periods, or of steam and of air uring such eriods.

Apparatus for carrying out the process may comprise as indicated in Fig; 1 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings; generator a is formed with a gasifying ortion generally below the connection f an a coal carbonizing portion above it and generally above the-connection f, a recuperative chamber or chambers, that is to say a carburetter b and superheater e of suitable type, valved connecting passages d, e and f between a regenerative chamber, that is to saythe carburetter, and the top, bottom and intermediate portions of the generator respectively and a valved connecting passage g between the top of the generatorv (by way of the'passagf, d) and the outlet h from the recuperative c ambers to storage after passing through wash box :12; d 6 f and 9 indicate the valves in the connecting passages. Steam inlets i, j and k are provided respectively at the bottom of the generator, at the junction of the gasi fying and carbonizing portions of same and in the outlet from the regenerative chambersto storage, a re ulatingvalve I being interposed between t e gas connection 9 with the top of the generator and the steam inlet k,

which is adapted to induce a backward flow through the regenerative chambers. This steam. inlet may be located at some point 5 nearer the generator, if desired. m is the stack valve. w is the'wash box having a gas outlet y therefrom. The usual connections are provided for the air blast to the fuel bed and for secondary combustionof blast products. z is an oil inlet, w is an air inlet to the carbureter and 22 is an air inlet to the superheater.

Some of the valves may be connected so as to be operated simultaneously or they may be interlocked in any convenient way. One valve interlocking and coupling arrangement suitable for apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 is diagrammatically illustrated by way. of example in Fig. 2, which represents in plan view the various pipes and valves in such away that all canbe seen easily, the full thick lines indicating couplings and the broken lines indicating interlocking means between valves. This arrangement will ensure safety and convenience in working and provide for the automatic openin of the steam supply to the correct part 0% the apparatus when all the gas valves are set for a particular operation.

The valve g is coupled with the valve Z so that when g is closed for an up-run or downrun with saturated steam the valve Z is opened, and closed or partly closed as desired (according to the degree of gas circulation required) when the valve 9 is opened for a back-run. The valve 9 is also coupled with the steam directing valve to the back-run and down-run steam supphes so that when it is opened for a back-run, the steam is also directed to the steam inlet is and, when the valve 9 is shut, the steam is directed to the down-run steam inlet j, but is prevented froni entering until the gas valve 6 has been opened for making a down-run, when the 45 shut-0E valve p to which the valve 8 is coupled, is correspondingly opened. The gas valve d is coupled with the steam valve n which directs the steam to the inlet 73 or to the back-run and down-run steam directing 60 valve 9 so that, when the valve (1 is opened,

the steam is directed to the inlet 11 and when it is shut it is direted to the directing valve 9 provided the shut-off valve p is opened by the gas valve 0 The gas valve 6 is mutu- 86 all interlocked with the generator air blast Va ve 7' so that the valve 6 cannot be opened before the generator blast valve is shut and vice versa. The gas valve 6 is also interlocked with the gas valve d so that it cannot 60 be shut before cl is opened which will ensure an uprun being made with steam introduced at i to purge the generator bottom of watergas before the same can be air blasted.

" In addition the usual interlocking of the 06 stack valve m with the secondary air blast valves of the regenerative chambers b and 0 may be employed, as also the usual interlocking of the carburetter oil supply with the generator air blast valve.

During the greater part of the air blow period, the valve 7" will be open as will be the stack valve m and the valves d, e and g will be shut and the steam inlets i, j and It will be closed; during the latter part of the air blow period the valve f and the stack valve may be shut and the valve 9 opened, the blow-run gas passing from the top of the generator through the outlet k to storage. During a back-run the steam inlet is and the valves e and 9 will be open and the valves (1 and f closed. While the back-run is taking place the regulating valve l may be opened to a suitable extent and some of the mixed watergas and coal-gas passing by way of the pipe g to the outlet pipe It may be re-circulated with and by means of the steam introduced at 70. It will be understood of course that, if desired, re-circulation of the gas may be induced or carried out by other well known means. When making the uprun with steam not superheated in the recuperative chambers the steam inlet a" will be open, the inlets and is closed and the valve (1 open and the valves e f and g closed and during this period oil may be admitted to the regenera-' tive chamber or carburetter b to enrich the gas. When making the down-run with steam not superheated in the regenerative chambers, the steam inlet j will be open and the steam inlets z and is closed, the valve 6 will be open and the valves (1 f and g closed.

I claim:

1., The process of manufacturin carburetted water gas which, when practiced in a single generator adapted to contain a dc scending column of fuel having coal at its upper end and coke at its lower end, a single carburetter and a single superheater, comprises a number of successive steps; the first step is air blasting the coke at the bottom of the column of fuel, leading off blast gases from a point beneath the coal in said column, and burning gases in the carburetter and in the superheater to store heat therein; the second step in passing steam through the superheater and through the carburetter and through the entire fuel column in a direction opposite to the movement thereof forming water gas on the passage throu h the coke; the third step comprises recircufiting a portion of the gas produced in the fuel column together with additional steam through the superheater and carburetter and through the entire fuel column in a direction opposite to the movement of the fuel column; the fourth step is passing saturated steam through the coke and through the coal in a direction opposite to the movement of the fuel column; and the fifth step is introducing saturated steam to the fuel column at a point adjacent theizo middle thereof and passing it through the coke in the direction of the movement of the fuel column thereby generating blue water gas, passing the water gas through the carburetter, carburetting the gas in the carfuel zone, leading off the air blast gases below the coal carbonizing zone and heating the regenerative vessel, passing saturated steam upwardly through the hot coke zone and thereby generating water gas, passing the hot water gas through the coal to generate coal gas and assist the carbonization and simultaneously superheating a mixture of steam and reclrculated water gas and coal gas by passing the mixture through the heated regenerative vessel, admitting the superheated mixture of steam and gases to the hot coke zone simultaneously with the saturated steam, and passing the coke formed in the coal carbonizing zone to the lower fuel zone.

JAMES CALDWELL STELFOX. 

